FranXX: Truth Injected
by adayinyoureyes
Summary: "The truth... We finally obtained it. We finally brewed it. The elixir that will finally free us from their chains."
1. Introduction

hey, hi. for those of you who enjoy darling in the franxx, i decided to join the fanfic bandwagon. its mostly because of a personal grudge i have with myself, and i hope i can solve it with this... work.

instead of doing a retelling of the anime, i decided to experiment a bit. probably a bit too much. i made some changes to the characters, but the essence is still there. note that this is going to be big and slow, so dont expect things like all characters being introduced in a single chapter or anything.

my take on doing a fanfic on ditf was grabbing its characters and throwing then into a totally new world (or is it?), with totally new elements (or are they?). it's still gonna be cohesive enough to be able to fit to the original story. instead of taking the "what if this happened instead of that" and changed a couple of things from there, i took it to what i believe is the extreme.

this is gonna be a long ride, so dont expect the title to make too much sense at the beginning.

i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoy writing it.

best regards,

ako


	2. Chapter 1.

It was a beautiful Sunday outside. Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and Hiro had just left his room for the first time in the whole night after a long, long marathon of playing videogames. It wasn't the first he had, and it wouldn't be the last ond for sure. He was hungry, his thumbs hurt a bit too much, and the fatigue had started to kick in a couple of hours ago, as it usually happened to him, or as it would happen to anyone if the only thing they had done during a whole night was exhausting their eyes and hands in front of a flashy computer screen. It was 8am already, and he wasn't really keen on having to make anything for breakfast. He grunted and mumbled something and decided the best option to survive this morning was to take a shower and go get something to eat from the convenience store that was the closest to him. It wasn't a frequent occurrence for him to sleep more than five or six hours a night, but recently his sleep schedule was getting less and less attention, even less than the almost null attention he used to pay to it. He only truly respected his mandatory sleeping hours when his bimestral exams were close enough, but now that mid-March was getting nearer and nearer, he was enjoying his remaining twenty days of vacations in the most mundane way he could before he would have to return to high school in April. As Hiro wearily opened the door to his room, a dazzling beam of light impacted his drained eyes right where it hurt the most. He struggled to partially closed the blinds so that the light wouldn't bother him that much and succesfully grabbed a pair of jeans, a loose pink t-shirt and some underwear. He didn't really care about the color choices, he was too tired to think about anything that wasn't ending his body's yearning for more nutrients.

After a couple of yawns and stretches, Hiro eventually arrived to the bathroom, closed the door and stepped in the shower. When he opened the water, his pale skin and greasy hair were happily met with a burst of cold water that he wasnt as happy about. He loudly yelled "FUCK!" and stepped out of the range of the stinging stream as quickly as he could. It was clearly not the best way to awake him, but it clearly worked for the most part. "Shit… Why do I keep forgetting it takes a time for the heater to work?", he asked himself, the anger getting progressively more noticeable with each word in his mind. Thirty seconds later, with cold water still running, a sudden knock-knock on the door startled him a little bit.

\- "Is everything alright in there, Hiro?" is what a soft and warm feminine voice asked.

\- "Yeah, I'm okay. Just forgot the same stupid shit you remind me everyday" was the exhausted and dry response said voice got.

That feminine voice, who proceeded to laugh afterwards, belonged to Hiro's roommate, Ichigo. She had been his childhood friend since they were five, and nothing had really changed with the years. The two had been together through most of their childhood and adolescence, until eventually they ended up living together and attending the same high school. It wasn't a coincidence, though, as Ichigo had been accumulating some, at first, strange feelings for him throughout the time she spent with him. He had undeniably changed over time, but she kept having those tingly emotions rise to her whenever she thought about him. "Silly boy", she muttered while calmly strolling back to the living room. She had been up since 7am, watching TV. Her daily duty consisted on waiting for Hiro to finish things so she could do her own or doing everything before Hiro woke up. She was the one who usually cleaned and cooked, although Hiro did most of the housework when she fell asleep during her daily afternoon nap.

After a minute and a half of waiting for the piece of old metal that had the audacity to be called heater by their landlord to start working, he finally stepped in without having to worry about the cold burning his pale skin again. The water flowed through his thin, disregarded frame, highlighting his bones, which looked like they were struggling to exit his body. After stretching his back, he first massaged his hair with some shampoo he and Ichigo had found with a huge discount some weeks ago. It was a nice buy. Three for the price of two and it smelled like cinnamon? Best deal ever. He could feel his hair getting back on its usual place, as soft and thin as his black hair mat always had been. He loved the sensation of combing it with his hands when it was clean. Without removing the shampoo, he next lathered his figure in some off-brand gel he had bought a couple of days ago. It was cheap and didn't smell bad, so he figured he'd take it. Hiro's thought process wasn't too complex when deciding what he'd buy. If it was clothes, it had to fit him. If it was food, he had to like it. If it was anything else, it had to be cheap. His hands washed every part of his body and slowly dragged the uncleanliness out of him, the tiredness and dirtiness of the night before descending through the shower's drain. Lastly, he then proceeded to remove all the gel and shampoo from his body thoroughly, as the ending task to be completed before getting out of that watery and transparent cell. He looked at the blurry reflection in the glass around and in front of him and frowned a bit. He didn't like what he was becoming, but he didn't seem to want to stop it anyway. His appeareance was one of the many things he didn't like about himself, and unfortunately it was the one thing everyone could deduce at first sight. He was incredibly thin, almost skeletal, and he severely lacked muscular mass. To add up, he didn't eat much, and when he did it was junk food with no particular schedule. It wasn't really a matter of not liking his body because it didn't fit his standards, it was more oriented towards not fulfilling a health quota that he wanted to reach. After mentally self-loathing for a minute or two, he snapped out of his thoughts and turned the water off.

The moment the heater stopped making its particular loud and raucous noise, which meant Hiro ended his daily cleansing, Ichigo knew she was given the green light to cook her breakfast. She didn't really like variety and she had stuck with having miso soup and rice in the mornings ever since Hiro and her started living together. It was a cheap and tasty option to which she often resorted. First she'd make the rice. It was the simplest part of it all, and could be left on the background while preparing the main dish. All she had to do was get a saucepan, fill it up with hot water and leave it boiling on the stove for a minute or two. Then, in those sixty spare seconds, she just needed to move the ingredients for the miso soup such as some tofu, wakame kelps and half an onion to the countertop where she would get them ready. As thoughtful as Ichigo was, she already had left the dashi done the night before, while Hiro was immerse in his video-game world. It was the hardest part of the night, getting back to cooking right after having eaten dinner, but she was used to it. Her thin fingers reached for the rice on the only tall shelf in the kitchen, and then she poured out the remainings of the pack in the saucepan, which was approximately a ration and a fifth. She was used to a number of different things since she grew up. As independent as she was now, a couple of years before she struggled with the most basic things. While the rice was being cooked, she grabbed a small but sharp knife and started cutting the tofu as small as she could. She wasn't too precise with the knife when she first started living by herself, but with time and practice she mastered the art of not cutting herself too often. It was her determination to be better for others, mostly for Hiro and not as much as for herself, that led her to her desire to be as skillful as possible in different areas. She liked to be relied on, and Hiro didn't do that as much as she would want him to.

While Ichigo was stirring the rice so that it wouldn't stay stuck on the bottom of the saucepan, Hiro entered the kitchen silently.

\- "Need help there?", he asked as he yawned.

At first, Ichigo didn't respond. She was busy filling a pot with more water to boil where she would empty part of the dashi and the kelps later.

\- "Don't worry, Hiro. I've got this covered!", she answered in a happier than usual tone.

It seemed a bit too happy for Hiro, who was immediately thrown off.

\- "How come you're awake at this hour? You can be many things, but an early bird is not one of them".

As much as Hiro could like pointless conversations, his brain could only think about how he would erradicate his munchies with a couple of pizza portions. He grabbed the keys to the house and put them in his pocket.

\- "No idea, really. I felt like I needed to look like an efficient human being for once".

She looked at him, smiled and nodded.

\- "Yeah, yeah. It's not like you've been playing all night again, right?", she sarcasticly asked.

Hiro tried to laugh it off as he yawned again.

\- "Yeah, I guess you could call it that...".

As Ichigo dropped the remaining ingredients to the pot, she turned around and sternly walked towards him.

\- "You know you should be sleeping then, right?"

Hiro never really liked when Ichigo was so motherly to him. He was old enough, he could make his own life choices! He wasn't a child anymore, he was going to start the second year of high school in a mere three weeks! Who did she believe he was? However, he never talked back to her in cases like this. Although, to be fair, he never talked back. He knew she was totally right in this particular case. It wasn't exactly fear or disgust, but something about Ichigo just suddenly walking to his face raised his defenses. He backed up a bit.

\- "Yeah, I-I know. Don't worry, it's not like I can do a lot more at night."

Ichigo just looked at him in the eyes for what appeared to be the longest five seconds Hiro had ever experienced, until she sighed and returned to the countertop, defeated, turned the stove off, then proceeded to serve some of her morning elixir in a bowl and later drained the rice so that it wouldn't be too watery.

\- "Whatever... Keep pretending those enormous eye bags of yours don't exist. By the way, what are you grabbing the keys for?", she said as he cut some onion slices for her soup.

\- "I'm just gonna grab something from the convenience store to fill my belly up".

Just after he finished saying that, his stomach growled loudly.

\- "See? I need it.".

Both laughed at the unexpectedly well-timed noise.

\- "You don't have to spend a penny on junk food. I can cook for you, you know that?", Ichigo inquired.

\- "Yeah, I also know that, it's just that you just finished preparing yours and all that. I don't want to come off as rude or useless", Hiro replied. "Might as well grab a couple pizza portions and come back here instead of spoiling your breakfast.", he jokingly retorted.

Ichigo lightly smiled and looked down. She blushed lightly, but he didn't seem to acknowledge it.

\- "I guess you got me on that one… Still, you got to sleep tonight. More than four hours. I'm grabbing your PC and putting it in my room if you don't take me seriously."

Hiro looked at her and grinned tenderly, right before opening the door.

\- "Yeah… I know".

It was a beautiful Sunday outside. Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and the loud and irritating sound of a distorted Linkin Park song from the 2000s started ringing from the speakers of a mobile phone sitting in a small and wooden bedside table. Covered by the sound of a powerful voice, electric guitars and drums being slammed, a slight grunt could be heard, as if trying to complain but not wanting it enough to actually do it. A menacing hand slowly rised from the depths of the quilt that covered them and, after a couple of seconds of trying to position itself, it let all of its dead weight fall directly to the phone's screen. However, in a sad twist of events, the hand lightly hit the air and fell into nothing, while the song kept its task of shattering their timpani. One of them slowly rose out of bed, placidly stretched her arms and walked to the other side of the bed to turn the shrill noise off.

\- "Uuuugh… Why is there an alarm on a Sunday…", he grumbled. "Never mind… I probably am just bad with phones. Thanks for that, hun…", a sleepy voice growled from under the covers. "Why do we have to wake up so early again?"

The dainty and naked figure that had caused the song to fade into nothing a couple of seconds ago opened the sheets of the bed to reveal him still sleepy in a fetal position. He turned and stayed on his back, looking at the ceiling.

\- "Zorome, you lazy moron. You told me you wanted to go for a morning walk", she heatedly replied. "You really think I'd torture myself voluntarily like this?".

\- "The fu… Miku, I never mentioned going for a morning walk. What are you talking about?", he replied, with visible confusion. "Wait, that's not even my phone… The hell?"

The girl poked him in his chest twice.

"You said it yesterday, you said that you wanted to go for a morning walk, you bonehead! I put my phone in your side so you could hear the alarm better and turn it off yourself!".

Finally, in the midst of the situation, Zorome realized.

\- "Miku, I said I'd appreciate a morning wank, not walk! Wank! As in relieving a morning wood, not a morning stroll! Why in the world would I want to get up early to walk on a Sunday!?" he angrily asked her. "Also what is that song I just woke up to!? And why is YOUR phone on MY night stand!?".

She crossed her arms and took a deep breath.

\- "First off, don't disrespect my favourite band like that! Their songs are way better than that Nickelback shit you listen to! And second, it's not my fault that you can't pronounce properly, you dumbass! Now get up, I'm not letting you sleep again!", she topped off furiously as she angrily left to the kitchen downstairs.

Zorome mumbled an unintelligible string of swear words while he got out of, without a shadow of doubt, the most comfortable place of the flat both Miku and him lived in. They had started casually dating a couple of years ago, and as much as he loved her with all his heart, she was a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes. He didn't complain, though, as he knew he was also a pain in the ass to her most of the time. Sometimes, when he actually thought about it with his remaining working neurons, he was very amazed she hadn't left him. Zorome opened his wardrobe and picked some boxers and a pair casual jogging pants. After putting it all on, he looked on the mirror. He was getting a bit fatter than what he'd want, but that could be fixed with a couple of wild nights here and there. He smirked and tried to flex, resulting in him letting a laugh out when looking at the ridiculous pose he had just done. He loved to laugh about stupid things like that, especially when no one was looking. It was an unorthodox way to cheer himself up, but it had worked marvelously.

After getting his daily dose of memeing himself in front of the mirror, he picked up the same Gridman tee he'd used the day before. It didn't smell, so he figured he could wear it again. The boxers were a bit tight, but they were clean, and that's all he needed. Turns out one of the many benefits of showering before sleeping, besides already arriving relaxed (or exhausted, depending on the day) to bed, was arriving clean. Zorome went downstairs from their room, tripping twice in the process, to find Miku opening the fridge.

"Uh… Zorome, we have no milk" were the first words he heard when entering the kitchen.

Extremely tempted to pull his pants down just as a a joke factor as he had done multiple times before, he decided to be serious for a minute.

\- "Say no more", he responded, immediately heading back to their room. And tripping again in the process.

Miku looked at him go. She looked weirded out.

\- "I was totally expecting you to pull your pants down, to be honest", she said, lightly surprised. He answered from their room, yelling.

\- "I WAS ABOUT TO, BUT IT JUST GETS OLD WITH TIME, YOU KNOW?", was his response.

She laughed softly and smiled while she took out some cereals and cookies. It was strange for him not to behave like an idiot, but she didn't seen to complain about the change of pace. To her, Zorome was like a cream cake with an ugly topping. Even if the cake didn't seem too tasty, it was far beyond delicious.

A couple of minutes later, she heard his boyfriend scream from upstairs again.

\- "BY THE WAY, I'M BRINGING YOU A T-SHIRT TOO, YOU'RE GONNA CATCH A COLD", he said as he went down.

She looked at her nude body and shrugged. She was naked only when he was around, so it wasn't such a big deal. She could grab one of his tees when he wasn't around, something that he loved to do, and often did. To date, Zorome had "lost" seven t-shirts and didn't know what he did with them. He threw her t-shirt on her head and laughed as it dangled on her face.

\- "It would be bad if I had an arrow in my pants pointing me where to go", he humorously explained.

\- "I wouldn't catch a cold if you heated me up properly instead of just giving me a t-shirt...", she calmly stated. After putting the shirt on, Miku looked at him and smiled seductively. Zorome perfectly understood that look, it wasn't the first time he had seen it and it wouldn't be the last. But he was tired and hungry. "At least let me refill some energy, hun. Can't you wait ten minutes?", he responded. She laughed. "Aw, poor me. I was expecting my breakfast to come early", retorted as she winked. They both knew there was some sort of tension in the air until she started to crack up and both of them weren't able to hold it and ended exploding in laughter.

It was one of those one-of-a-kind wholesome moments you'd expect from a couple like them, who had such a level of chemistry, but that soft side of their relationship didn't come out as often as they would want, and Zorome knew that. He used to blame himself for it, since he was always making bad puns and he didn't seem to acknowledge that his partner got tired of it in no time. While laughing, Miku discovered she had a hole in her t-shirt. It wasn't the first time she had found a hole in any piece of clothing ever, but it was the first time than more than three fingers could slide in without a single problem. She dared to utter the words "Oh, my, this one is big..." before realizing it was too late to go back. She looked at him, now with the full knowledge that he had chosen the worst moment to get punned. She was ready for the horrible line that she knew she was going to have to stand and saw the biggest smirk on his face.

\- "Nah, no jokes for now", he said, before leaning in for a kiss. Miku, really surprised again, happily complied and their lips and tongues fused in a clearly affectionate smooch.

\- "Man, you're more serious and playful than usual today", she inquired. "Is something the matter?".

And something was the matter, but he just replied with a warm "Nah, I'm as good as always". He had been trying to avoid being such an ass to her. He knew what she didn't like and was trying to correct it. He had his doubts about it, because he didn't know at what point of change he would stop feeling like himself, but that's something he kept to himself and didn't tell anyone. He disliked feeling like he couldn't solve his own problems, but his pride was too big to admit it. In his mind, his only goal was to have more moments like the one they just had, but he knew that such a thing wouldn't be possible in his actual state of mind.

\- "Anyway, gonna go to the 24h store now, how many cartons do we need?", Zorome asked while tying his shoes. Still surprised, Miku quickly thought about it.

\- "L-Like five or six, as always".

She reached for her keys and put them in Zorome's back pocket. Zorome chuckled.

\- "That is probably the best excuse you could find to fondle my butt, isn't it?", to which she happily replied.

\- "You do it all the time and I don't complain, baby". He chuckled.

\- "Yeah, I guess that's true.".

He picked up a grey jock-ish jacket and he put it on. It was his favourite jacket, he had had it for a couple of years now. It had his name on the back with Japanese letters in red.

\- "It's not my fault that your whole body is so cute, though", he replied as he stole a second kiss from her.

She deeply blushed and started stuttering, just before Zorome left the house with the words "Be back soon, love you". Less than a minute passed, and he came back.

\- "Hey, I'm back. Forgot my wal…"

His sentence was interrupted by her, passionately stealing the kiss back from him. Her hands caressing his cheeks, almost trying to pull him back in.

\- "Y-y… You idiot!", she blurted, before giving him his wallet, which he had left in the kitchen the day before, and slamming the door shut.

Zorome smiled caringly and repeated the words that he always said when he left, although this time, they sounded silkier than usual:

\- "Be back soon, love you".

Hiro walked slowly, humming a soothing tune to the rhythm of the music he was listening to. He had gotten a grip of lo-fi hip hop not a long time ago, when he first heard it coming from Ichigo's room. He remembered that day as if it were yesterday. He fell in love with the genre at first glance, when Ichigo offered one of her CDs and he heard Akorochan for the first time through them. The soft and mellow chords, mixed with hip hop beats and other real instruments captivated him the moment he closed his eyes and listened deeply. Since then, it had become the genre that he most listened to, whether it was just casually going from one place to another or enduring long grinding sessions in his favourite videogames. She said that kind of music helped her relax when studying, and it had a similar effect on him when playing.

In the middle of his stroll, he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him. "Hey, fucker!", the voice shouted at him. Hiro turned around to see Zorome running to him. Both were definitely surprised to see each other so soon in the day. "Hey fucker to you too, I guess", Hiro replied. He wasn't too enthusiastic of seeing Zorome. He was too energetic for him, although his average low levels of energy weren't really high to begin with.

\- "You going somewhere?", Hiro asked.

\- "Yeah. We ran outta milk, so I'm doing the dirty work", Zorome retorted cheerfully. "You gon' grab something to eat as usual?"

\- "What else would I be doing at this time of the day?"

\- "True, I forgot you were becoming an incel. Thanks for reminding me."

\- "Oh, fuck you Zory. Just because you get laid doesn't mean I must care about it."

Zorome giggled. He knew those kind of things didn't bother Hiro in the slightest, but trying to bother Hiro with them bothered Hiro for other reasons. As long as he lightly bothered him, he was happy.

\- "I bet 500 yen you pulled your pants down when you knew there was no milk.", Hiro stated.

Zorome had been waiting for something like that to come out of Hiro's mouth. Hiro was predictable, but so was he. He hadn't told anybody about his changes in behavior, so it was normal that Hiro would fail that. However, given how he started taking those changes seriously that same morning, he wouldn't have failed if he had said it the day before.

\- "You payin' for my milk then?", Zorome asked.

\- "Yeah, sure." Hiro countered sarcasticly. "Might as well ask Miku for some free samples, eh?"

The banter, the laughter and the back-and-forth jokes continued and seemed like they wouldn't stop. Hiro liked that kind of conversations, and knew he wouldn't get any of them like the ones he had with Zorome. They had a special connection since they were young. Growing up together, they never separated from each other. They were like a two-in-one pack. The years passed, and the pack hadn't been divided. Zorome kept being the sort of irresponsible and messy child that he was back when they met, although he had matured way more than the people Hiro knew. He just… Didn't show it that often. Hiro theorized that he left that facade of his for a couple of people to see. On the other side of the spectrum, Zorome knew that, despite his ups and downs, Hiro was one of the only people that he could get serious with without looking like someone in his family had died. Moreover, it could be said that, in some sense, Hiro needed him. He had been the one who had supported him the most during Hiro's worst episodes of a depression he still suffered today. They both understood each other in a way they couldn't ever understand themselves.

When they arrived to the convenience store, they were greeted by a familiar face. Goro, another one of Hiro's friends, was standing behind the counter, scanning what appeared to be a delivery note for his boss to receive from him later. To his left, there were three or four cardboard boxes full of goods to either be placed on the aisle shelves and fridges or to be moved to the storage room.

\- "Oi, mate!" Zorome brightly spoke. "Got some milk somewhere?"

Goro, as usual, just shaked his head trying to contain his laughter.

\- "I swear to God, there's cameras in here. Don't do the thing I know you have in mind right now."

Hiro laughed at the situation.

\- "Don't pay attention to that fool, Goro.", he said. "Have you got any pizza portions left?"

\- "Hey, I'm not a fool. I just have a much wider and superior sense of humor than all of you.", Zorome stated while faking being angry. "Now for real, Gobro. we ran outta milk, you got any?"

\- "Yes and yes." Goro pointed. "I have to admit that I like the nickname. The milk is in the refrigerator over there, on the third aisle. I'll give you a couple portions now, Hiro.".

As he put the pizza portions in the microwave and Zorome went into the aisle where the milk was, Goro leaned closer to Hiro.

\- "Dude, are you alright? You look… Dead. Like… More than usual."

\- "I'm as dead as ever, dude. What would you expect? This is what not taking care of yourself does to you, I guess."

\- "Have you been getting enough sleep? Eating well? I know I insist a lot lately, but..."

\- "Don't worry, Goro. I'm fine. I had a bad night today, that's all. Just give me the pizza portions."

Goro silently stared at him and conceded. Both knew Hiro wasn't fine, but he didn't want to push him too much.

\- "Okay… Makes sense. I bet you already have Ichigo to nag you about this kind of shit. I'm not gonna make you hear the same stuff twice. Just so you know, we're here for you."

Even though he never really said it out loud, Hiro thanked every effort of taking care of him of the few friends he had. Every time someone asked about his health, his state of mind, or just how his day was, he felt a bit better than. His thoughts marked it as sort of a paradox: he wanted his friends to pay attention to him, but at the same time he didn't want to waste his friends' attention. The inner machinations of Hiro's mind were an enigma. Those machinations were swiftly interrupted by Zorome, who had just found the milk he needed. He placed a 1000-yen bill on the counter and asked for a plastic bag.

\- "Goddammit, my arm's gonna huuuuuurt", he complained.

\- "Not my responsibility", Goro retorted while taking the pizza portions out of the microwave. "They're not exactly fresh, I did them yesterday night, but they're edible. 200 yens for you and 650 yens for Zorome".

Hiro took out two one 100-yen coin and two 50-yen ones and left them in the counter for Goro to grab. He hugged the portions and bit one of them. As always, it tasted like heaven and cheese.

\- "Hugging hinally, I wah ho hunghy", Hiro said with his mouth stuffed with pizza.

Goro and Zorome laughed hysterically because of Hiro's voice.

\- "Anyways, when are you getting outta here? I thought about organizing something for the five of us.", Zorome asked.

Goro looked at the clock. It was 8:20am. He still had to wait a long nine hours before he could abandon his workplace.

\- "I don't think it's a good idea. You know Ichigo doesn't particularly like me anymore", Goro argued.

\- "As if we cared", Hiro swiftly intervened.

\- "Yeah," Zorome continued, "it's not like everyone secretly hates you like we did with Futoshi. Miku also hates Ichigo but she agreed to come if we ended up meeting."

\- "I'll see what I can do. I don't guarantee a thing, though. If anything happen's I'll call you or something", Goro declared. "But now, I gotta keep working."

Hiro and Zorome left the convenience store and headed back to their respective homes. The banter and the laughs were a bit less prominent this time, as what Hiro had in mind were Goro's words. "You know Ichigo doesn't particularly like me". He felt guilty. The drama started because Goro had a massive argument with Ichigo about his mental health. Goro believed that Hiro needed to man up a tad and face his problems more independently, while Ichigo considered that Hiro needed help in every single step of his way to be able to improve. Zorome had always told him that he shouldn't blame himself, that the argument happened because Ichigo and Goro wanted it to happen, that it wasn't his fault. But deep down, he still thought he was the one who broke the group of friends he had. He knew he was the one to blame. If it weren't for his stupid illness, everybody would be happier and wouldn't have to worry about him…

After Zorome arriving to the house where he resided, Hiro was bid goodbye. Zorome would go back home, where Miku was waiting for him, ready to eat breakfast and watch TV with his beloved boyfriend for the rest of the morning. Hiro saw him enter the house with a loud "WE CAN FINALLY EAT, BABY" and smiled. He would like to have someone like that. He had always wanted to have someone like that, but he knew he was too weak to be like Zorome. He had convinced himself that his aspirations of being able to take care of someone else had to wait before he could take care of himself first. And, as he already knew, if he kept pulling the brakes he wouldn't be able to advance towards his goals.

The thought about actually having to walk home slightly irritated Hiro. Now that he was outside, why would he want to go back home? It's not like it was raining or anything. It was spring, for gosh's sake! But he knew he had to go back, he had to at least clean up a bit. He didn't want to be a burden to Ichigo, who had offered to do so much of the housework. He decided to pick his headphones and blast some of that lo-fi he so much enjoyed. Ichigo was right, listening to that kind of music improved his mood greatly.

While walking, he decided to check if he had any messages on his phone. Unfortunately, he collided with another person in the process. The guy, who Hiro thought was 19 or 20, just politely said "Watch out" before walking off to wherever he headed. The tone in which he said those words creeped Hiro out. It was warm and civil, but it sounded cold and unnatural. Hiro dazed out for a second looking at what appeared to be a black, quartz-like necklace that the guy was wearing before getting back on his tracks and continuing his way home. He didn't know who he was, but he was definitely someone who he thought he could fall in love with at first sight. "Weird", he muttered.

A couple of songs later, he finally arrived home. "I'm back!", he shouted from the entrance. Hiro took out his shoes and left them in a corner near the door, and entered the house. "Ichigo? ", he called, but nobody answered. He decided to go to the kitchen, where he found a note:

"I've gone out for the morning, I had some errands to run. Clean the bathroom, I already did the rest (including your room)."

Hiro smiled. For someone who he thought was so caring and protective of him, he didn't have the heart to tell her that most of what she did was in vain.

"You also have a plate of teriyaki salmon in the fridge. I know you like it a lot, so I made it. Eat it, please. Don't throw it in the trash. Love, Ichigo".

A tear slowly fell on the note. Then, another one. Then, another one.

"Yeah, I know".


	3. Chapter 2

It was a beautiful Sunday outside. Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and Mitsuru walked slowly down one of the many alleys that he used to take to get home fast. He knew all of them well enough, he had been walking those streets for three years now. During the time he spent wandering them, before settling down on a tiny traditional house in one of the city's poorest areas, he was forced to learn every nook and cranny of the narrow passages that surrounded him, even those almost unnoticeable things that would be obviated by the eyes of a rather normal person. The one that he was traversing at the moment was one of his personal favorites. It was one of the few that didn't smell like rotten food or had junk all over the place. The sun freely lighted up a portion of the traverse, as one of the buildings that once stood firmly was torn down, and the remainings of the collapsed place had become a ruinous labyrinth of granite, plastic, wood and glass. Mitsuru liked that place in particular for another reason: it was a strategic spot. It was one of the places where Mitsuru could "work" in peace at night. The walls were a bit moldy on some spots, and some poppies had started to bloom. Mitsuru reached out to see one closely. He liked how delicate its petals were. His slim hand reached out to the flower's stem and his fingers tenderly roamed on his surface. He smiled.

Right after leaving his favourite spot in the city, Mitsuru bumped into a weird-looking kid looking at his phone. He just said "Watch out" and kept going as usual. He noticed how pale and thin he was. Too tired to say sorry, too exhausted to argue, Mitsuru just kept walking. He only wanted to arrive home and fall asleep on the couch, or on his bed, or on the floor, or whatever. He was yearning for his shift to end. His legs felt heavier and heavier for each step he took. It seemed like he was drowning on quicksand the more he moved. After what it seemed the most ardous eight minutes of his life, he could finally see his house in the distance. All he needed to do was pick the keys, open the door, get close enough to the couch and let his weight and gravity do the rest. Unfortunately, his house wasn't the only thing he could see. A blonde teenager dressed in white was tossing a silver coin to the air. "Oh, no. Not now.", he thought. He calmly waved at the kid as he approached his house. He just nodded at Mitsuru. It was his weird way to say hi.

\- "The fuck are you doing outside my house, you blonde bitch?", Mitsuru uttered.

The boy giggled.

\- "Oh, come on. I know you can think of better insults than blonde bitch at this point."

Mitsuru smiled. He liked the guy since they had started working together.

\- "Yeah, but my brain is fried beyond belief right now. Bold of you to assume that a fried brain can think.", Mitsuru stated.

"Oh, well, then." The bo replied. "I have, what I assume, are good news for you. You see, aft-".

\- "Cut the crap, Alpha", Mitsuru grunted. "I just told you I'm too tired for this, or too tired for anything, to be honest. Just tell me what you're here for and then leave. I wanna sleep, for fuck's sake".

Alpha, as he was apparently called, laughed out loud.

\- "Come on, come on. Alright, alright, I'll be nice this time and save you all the extra bullshit.".

He handed Mitsuru a red envelope. After talking a close look and grabbing the envelope, Mitsuru shook it and he looked at it, confused. Alpha cackled quietly.

\- "It's pay day for ya, mate. There's, I think, correct me if I'm wrong, like a hundred thousand inside, plus a bon-"

\- "The fuck you mean pay day? This is a week early.", Mitsuru inquired.

Alpha patted Mitsuru's back, and almost threw him on the ground in the process. It wasn't what he had in mind when patting his back, but it made for a pretty decent comedic relief.

"As I was saying, before your rude but understandable interruption, there's a bonus from Werner. He said you deserved it, or something. Dunno."

"A… bonus?", Mitsuru asked, staring at the envelope for a few seconds. "What is the bonus for? What did I do to deserve it? Wha…?"

Mitsuru soon realized he was talking to nobody, as Alpha had vanished from his sight and, if anyone else was watching, their sight too. He wondered if what just happened was all part of his imagination, some kind of hallucination produced by his drained brain. But he was holding the envelope, which meant his head didn't trick him this time. He grabbed the keys to enter his house, the only thing he had in his mind. Just before opening the door, he glanced at his keychain, a shiny blue sphere made of probably plastic or some cheap metal. It was the simplest thing he could find that he actually liked. His personal preference would have been a picture of his girlfriend and him, but he couldn't take the risk of losing that keychain, given the job he had and the risk it involved. He entered his home and he took off his shoes. He dangled his black leather jacket on the wooden hanger next to the door, then unbuttoned the white shirt he had put on the night before and did the same to it that he'd done to his jacket.

Mitsuru looked at the mirror that was hanging just at his right, in front of the hanger. His body was full of scars of different sizes that he had acquired through the years. While many people showed off their scars as a sign of strength and pride. he didn't. He wasn't particularly strong, but he had been agile and quick enough when he needed to be, and that's the only reason his skin beared the remainings of those wounds. He looked specially to his back, where a tattoo of two one-winged birds, one beige and one brown, tangled to each other, flew together. It had been a birthday gift that he worked hard for, and reminded him that he should be proud of himself sometimes. It also was one of the few parts of his body where there were no remnants of past conflicts.

Mitsuru sighed and quietly sneaked through the living room to reach the kitchen. The television, the cheapest he could find that worked was still on, and some children's program was being shown in black and white. Mitsuru didn't quite understand how that relic of the past still worked, but he didn't complain. There was a book on the sofa and an empty ashtray on the glass table that was between the sofa and the TV. He grabbed some instant noodles and a glass bowl, and left it all on the table. It was gonna be his breakfast if nothing changed during the morning. After that, he slowly tiptoed his way to a room past the living room that had its door closed. He was avoiding any chance of making any kind of noise, choosing his steps with patience and meticulous.

Mitsuru turned the knob and pushed the door very gently, trying not to make a sound. The clear but unclear sight of Kokoro peacefully sleeping, resting her head on a pillow, soothed him. He walked up to her and kneeled on the wooden floor, observing her. He could feel her delicate breath caress the air around him. He leaned towards her and kissed her forehead. He smiled. He was proud of her. It was her last year of school, and her grades had been immaculate. He knew she had the potential to do almost anything she wanted to. Thoughts like that made him think if he would seem more of a father or a boyfriend sometimes. But now was not the time to feel proud, nor was the time to think about his relationship; now was the time to let his mind and body rest. He could think a thousand, perhaps a million good things about her after he had his rest. He quietly got on his side of the bed and laid next to her, resting his head on her chest. After closing his eyes and getting comfortable, in a matter of minutes he soundly fell asleep to the rhythm of her heart.

Ichigo looked patiently to her green watch. Five minutes to nine in the morning, and she was ready to get what she needed and leave those errands done. She hated leaving things to be done in the last minute: the earlier she did everything she had to do, the better. That way, she could ensure she'd have free time to do whatever she needed. However, she wasn't planning on going alone. She had convinced Ikuno to join her on her travels to obtain all that she had to buy for the new school year. She checked the list that she had written up minutes before: an agenda to keep track of homework and exams, preferably basic but not too detailed if there weren't any basic designs; five or six notebooks for all the subjects, on A4 paper;, coloured pens, some pencils for art class, rubbers, post-its… There were a lot of things written on that list, but she had more than enough money to spend.

Ichigo looked at her watch again, it displaying 9 am now. She tilted her head up, worried that Ikuno, the most punctual person she knew, would arrive late. To her ironic surprise, she saw Ikuno casually walking towards her. She hadn't told her what she was coming for, because she knew Ikuno wasn't the kind of person who would buy school material more than two weeks earlier than the start of the grade. She was more of a "Meh, I'll do it later" kind of person, and so were probably most of the people she knew. Ichigo waved with energy and Ikuno waved back. She was obviously not as excited as Ichigo, but she didn't care.

\- "Okay, I arrived just on time for… Well, whatever I'm in for apparently."

Ichigo smiled at her. She smelled like cologne.

\- "Don't worry, it's nothing special, really. Just wanted to leave some stuff done.", Ichigo said.

Ikuno yawned and sat on the bench that Ichigo was sitting on. She saw a bee flying towards a tiny rose.

\- "What am I in for exactly?" Ikuno asked, still observing the bee's movement, a movement that took it to the petals of a white rose. "I'm hungry, I haven't eaten my breakfast yet and my stupid piece of ass of a roommate has already managed to piss me off without even being awake yet."

Ichigo looked at her, worried.

\- "Oh, sorry about that. I guess I rushed you a bit too much. If you want, we can go grab something on our way,.."

Ikuno sighed. She closed her eyes, then stared at the rose again, noticing the bee was missing. It had probably flown away, trying to avoid that conversation.

\- "Whatever, there's a lot of time to spend. Besides, with that brat inside of my house, I don't really wanna be there right now."

There was clearly something that was going on, and Ichigo she wasn't sure she wanted to know about. On one hand, she wanted to ask what happened with his roommate, because she worried about her and wanted to be able to help her;, but on the other hand, she was worried that the problem she presented would be too complicated or difficult for her to help Ikuno with.

\- "I know that look, Ichigo. You can ask me about him, alright? I'm not gonna get mad at you or anything.", Ikuno said softly.

Never mind, she didn't even have to solve her mental dilemma. Ichigo's hand reached for Ikuno's shoulder.

\- "Do you need to talk about it?"

Ikuno nodded slightly.

"Might as well do it, I don't really lose anything at this point..."

In the at least ten to fifteen minutes that followed, Ikuno proceeded to scold and complain about almost every aspect of his new roommate. Apparently, his name was Futoshi and he had been transferred to the school that they were attending, and he had settled in for the free spot on Ikuno's appartment that she was offering to ease her renting costs. At first, the guy seemed to be pretty outcast and a bit hostile, but Ikuno convinced herself that maybe that was his character, and that as long as he did the chores he had to do and didn't touch anything that he shouldn't touch it would be fine.

As the story went on, Ichigo learnt that in the next week, Ikuno caught him rummaging through her room twice, presumably searching for money in the best case scenario, and underwear in the worst one. It turned out to be the worst case scenario both times. She also explained that, when entering his room one day because of the unbelievably foul stench that was coming from it, she discovered a tremendously huge pile of plastics from junk food, energetic beverages spilled and what appeared to be a figurine of some naked, pink-haired woman covered in a brown-ish dried out liquid. She almost vomited when she saw it, but she could contain herself until she reached the bathroom, where she emptied her guts. The worst part of it all is that Futoshi had already paid for the whole school year, which meant he would stay until the school year ended, which meant Ikuno would have to endure him a lot more than what she wanted.

Ichigo felt really sorry for her. She hadn't ever had the displeasure to know someone like the man who Ikuno had just described to him, and she was certain that she wouldn't want to know him at all. She knew she wasn't able to do anything besides listening to her.

"At least I know that Hiro does the house chores too, even if he needs help to do it. He tries to do it, at the very least. And we both know that he's as useless as shit when he's down." Ikuno was clearly angry. She had gotten up and had started walking in circles in the middle of her rambling. "Even if he has to repeat it a hundred times, with a bit of help here and there he does anything that is taught to him. But this guy… This guy… THIS FAT FUCK…!"

Ichigo quickly got up and hugged her as tight as she could. She knew that it calmed her in these kinds of instances. She had seen worse of her before, and she didn't want to see it again. Ikuno's erratic breath seemed to slow down, and Ichigo could swear she felt tears running through her friend's cheeks. They both sat down again, where Ichigo realized that, in fact, a tear or two had run over Ikuno's cheeks. She stood there, frozen as her friend seemed to curl up. She got as close as he could and ran her hand through her hair, another strategy that had proved effective to mitigate her intense anger outbursts. Whatever it took to make her colleague feel better, she would at least try.

\- "How about we stop talking about him?"

Ikuno looked at the ground, silent.

\- "Yeah… Let's stop that. Whatever".

To distract her, Ichigo had the idea to ask her for advice on a very important thing. It was another of Ikuno's weaknesses, as well as hers, wanting to be perceived as useful for these sorts of important things that seemed to require external help to effectively deal with. With that in mind, Ichigo decided to explain her situation to her. She laid down that Zorome had sent her a message a few days ago, saying that he was trying to organize the gang to be able to meet today, and that apparently everyone was going to be there: Miku, Hiro, Goro, Kokoro, him and her. Ichigo pondered that, on one hand, she was raring to go, as she hadn't seen Kokoro, Miku and Zorome in a long time and he missed them so much. She had had great times with them and was very eager to see them again. However, she was not too sure about going, since Goro was going too, and after the argument they had over Hiro the last time they had met, she felt like things were still heated up between them and could reignite at any given moment that one of them could get pissed off at the other. Plus, Hiro was also going to be there with them and she didn't want to cause him any harm like the last time everyone had met.

After a couple of seconds of consideration, Ikuno answered thoughtfully.

\- "Look, you don't really need to care about Hiro that much. If he's not okay, he will find a way to say it. He's not a child anymore and you should know that. And neither are you.". Ikuno looked at her. "Worrying about someone doesn't imply becoming the equivalent of their guardian, and that's a thing that I don't think you understand yet." She shrugged. "Sure, you might like Hiro and all that romantic crap that all us girls should have a phase of, but what has Hiro done to deserve a spot in your heart?"

Ichigo's face turned bright red.

\- "Just go if you feel like it. As long as you feel okay doing it for him, then… Just go, I guess. Just… Go."

Ikuno sighed softly.

\- "Now that I remember, I still don't know why I'm here, you haven't told me yet."

Ichigo looked at her surroundings. The park wasn't half bad, but it could use some grooming. At least the fountain in the middle made up for it.

\- "I thought about getting all I needed for school and I did a list for it and all. I didn't want to go alone, so I called you"

Ikuno turned her head away from her and mumbled something along the lines of "You have to be kidding me".

\- "Wait, wait, wait, wait… Let me recap for a second. So… You probably woke up at seven like you always do…".

Ichigo nodded.

\- "And you made a list of things that you had to buy for school...".

Ichigo nodded again.

\- "And you brought your wallet with enough money to buy them...".

Ichigo nodded a third time.

Ikuno looked at her in disbelief. Sometimes, talking to Ichigo was like talking to a toddler; other times it was like talking to a wall.

\- "On a Sunday. The day all stores except the convenience store and some coffee shops are closed.".

Ichigo nodded a fourth time, but interrupted herself after realizing the mistake she had made.

\- "Wait… Sunday. Oh, darn it." Ichigo's voice sounded softer, like if it was trying to apologize. "I got it now. Never mind. I'm dumb.". She poked her head in frustration.

Ikuno just sighed.

\- "Doesn't matter, let's just grab something to eat. My stomach is begging me."

Zorome was calmly lying down on the sofa as Miku was finishing her breakfast, which consisted of a bowl of the milk he had just brought home and cereals. He had chosen not to grab the same and he simply settled on an apple and a tangerine that he had found in the fridge. He loved the taste of fresh fruit, it was one of the things that he wouldn't change in his life. The TV started airing a program that both Miku and him profoundly disliked. The show, a new seasonal anime that had been premiering with rather large success, followed the story of a teenager living in a post-apocalyptic world where humans had to fight strange blue and black monsters while riding giant robots. They had forced themselves to watch three episodes before concluding that whatever they were watching was more than horrendous and should never be aired again in their household. The moment he heard the first words of the opening, possibly the best, if not the only good part of it all, he jumped on his seat. He started frantically searching for the remote of their television, which he couldn't find anywhere. He tried to lift the sofa, but he couldn't do it alone. It wasn't on any of the shelves of the living room, nor was it on the floor.

\- "Honey, you remember where we left the remote?", exclaimed Zorome. "I think the best worst show ever is starting and I can't seem to be able to stop it."

Miku arrived in the living room as fast as she could after leaving the bowl on the sink.

\- "You search on the left, I'll search on the right", she ordered.

Zorome followed the order with no questions. He commenced to ravage all the boxes and the places he could find, while Miku did the same on the other side of the room. After four minutes of extensive work, neither of them had found the remote yet.

\- "I give up, the show wins today", Miku yelled.

Zorome, observing the mess they had made to find the remote, gave up too. He wen on to sat on the sofa, ready torture his senses with whatever that series threw at him. His hand accidentally went down inbetween the cushions that were on the sofa, and he touched something. At first, he didn't know what it was. He started palpating the unknown, plastic object, until he unintentionally seemed to press something. He tried to grab the still unknown object while still sitting on it. It was a difficult task, to say the least, but after a minute or two of struggling, Zorome withdrew the lost and now found remote.

\- "Never mind, I found it. I just pulled it out of my ass", Zorome said laughing.

\- "Yeah, but now we have to put everything back in its place...", Miku mumbled.

\- "Fuck it, we'll do it before lunch time. We still have to marathon at least three series today.", he retorted.

Miku seemed to agree, as she laid down on him and hugged him.

\- "You're soft, baby", she said as she crawled on him and reposed her head on his chest.

\- "Maybe I've been putting a bit of weight." He laughed softly. "It will probably be gone after two sessions of our exercise routine.

He winked his eye at her and laughed again. She, again, seemed really surprised.

\- "Whoa. I was expecting you to say something about getting you hard. Is my baby boy finally maturing?"

She was the one laughing this time. "You have no idea", Zorome thought to himself. He was about to respond her, but a vibration coming from his phone interrupted him. Miku got up and gave him his phone, then got back in the same position she was. He opened his messages to see one from Goro.

\- "Whoa, nice, Goro and Ichigo are both coming."

Miku looked at him in what it could be described as awkward confusion. Zorome stared back at her.

\- "What. I told you I was arranging a meeting for all of us. What context did you put my words in?"

Miku frowned.

\- "So she's coming, huh?".

\- "Yeah, she is. Like, I couldn't find an explanation for her not to come with us that she would actually believe, so instead I decided to just invite her. That way she wouldn't get angry at us."

Miku looked at the TV, while running her fingers through Zorome's chest.

\- "I don't know… Last time we were all together, she and Goro almost fought each other to death and Hiro had an anxiety attack and a breakdown", Miku replied.

Zorome knew she had valid reasons to try not to invite Ichigo, after what had already happened, but he felt she deserved a second chance.

"He had to stay with us that night. I don't know him as well as you do, but if I were you I'd try to erase all possibilities of something similar happening."

He patted her head.

\- "Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing like that happens again. Not now, at least. He's down again..."

They sighed at the same time.

\- "Still, I want you to take care of him. I don't want that blue-haired bitch making a scene again just because she doesn't know how to not be overprotective."

Zorome looked at her, in a more serious tone.

\- "Baby, don't say that. Even if it's true, she's done more good than bad, and you know it."

\- "But I ain't lied. She's obsessed with him. She treats him like the small brother she never had. She's jealous, overprotective and hostile. That's not a good combination for anybody."

Zorome couldn't utter a single word.

\- "Still, I believe that you… Or rather, we'll manage the situation well. I believe in you, and I believe in us."

She got a bit closer and tenderly stole a kiss from him. He smirked softly.

\- "I believe in us, too..."

Suddenly, a loud music interrumped them. They both looked at the television to see some credits rolling. The awful show was over for this week.

\- "Wait, has it ended? And we missed it?", Miku asked, confused.

\- "Apparently, it did.", Zorome confirmed. "Oh, whatever. Now we can pick everything up in t-"

He couldn't finish the phrase, as Miku had stolen yet another kiss from him. This time, there was some tongue action, an indicator of what could come after.

\- "Or, you know...", Miku mumbled, "We could wait half an hour… Or whatever time it takes you." She smirked and kissed him again.

\- "Yeah, we probably can."

The TV was turned off.


End file.
